Bloodlines
by DaHaloChick
Summary: Written w Mena Madvin. What if a girl from Kurama's past and another girl with a special family tree joined Team Urameshi in the dark tournament? Also a romance, but not a Mary Sue! KuramaOC HieiOC
1. Arrival

Here's the oh-so-wonderful disclaimer! Yu Yu Hakusho and all of its characters belong to their respective owners, except for Kitel who belongs to Mena and Midra who belongs to me. Trust me, if we owned them, it would be a glorious day, indeed.  
Please review!! ^_^ *kitty face*  
  


Chapter 1 

  
The birds chirped and the sun shone as the leaky boat was slowly but surely making its way to the deadly island where the Dark Tournament would be held. The boat simply held teams of demons who were competing, but one team stood out among the others.  
  
Team Urameshi stood in a corner of the ship, attempting to ignore the other fighters. Yusuke was simply looking around with his hands in his pockets. Kuwabara was leaning on the railing, looking at the seawater as it passed them by. Kurama simply stood aware of his surroundings with his mate Kitel, who was their back-up fighter, by his side. Hiei simply had his arms crossed, observing the other fighters. The Masked fighter was still and silent. Midra, the healer for the group and the granddaughter of the Great Genkai, was simply standing close to Yusuke, a tad fearful of the demons on board. She had been training with Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei since the invitations to the tournament had been sent out, and so was now very much accustomed to demons, but the sheer number of them put her on edge a bit.  
  
Kitel noticed this and smirked at her. "Aww, scared little girl?"  
  
Midra glared at her. "No, especially not of you."   
  
"Midra has no reason to be scared!" exclaimed Kuwabara. "She's been training really hard with the three of us, right Kurama?" Kurama simply nodded in agreement.  
  
Kitel looked away, her nose lifted. "Please, don't make me laugh." "Oh, _I'll_ be the one laughing if you keep that attitude up." Midra threatened.  
  
Kitel glared at her. "How could you possibly think you can actually last in this tournament?" she asked, her hatred for humans shining through as it always did when she argued with Midra.  
  
Midra glared right back at her. "Why don't you be quiet until you actually see me fight, hmm?" Kitel growled at her.  
  
"Stop it, you two," Kurama ordered. "I would suggest not underestimating each other. When I say 'each other', I'm referring to the _both_ of you." Kitel turned away from him, grumbling.  
  
The Masked Fighter took the opportunity to intervene. "Can't you both put your petty rivalry aside? You've only known each other for a few hours." Hiei joined in with the threat. "If you two don't stop, I will personally remove you both."  
  
Midra scoffed at him. "You? I could throw you overboard, small fry."  
  
Hiei stepped forward and drew his sword. "Excuse me?"  
  
"ENOUGH!" growled Yusuke, stepping in between the two of them. "Grow up!" Midra looked at Yusuke, knowing that she would never hurt him. She simply sighed and turned away. Hiei growled and walked off to another part of the ship. Midra growled at his retreating form.  
  
Kurama smirked at Midra and Hiei. He knew that the fighting was just a façade, a cover-up. Kurama knew Hiei better than anyone else did, and he could tell that Midra had caught his eye. Midra knew that Hiei was dangerous, and yet she still stood up to him as if she were his equal, and that both enraged and intrigued Hiei at the same time. In fact, he thought to himself, Hiei was quite the open to book to those who really knew him. Midra was just as amusing. She thought that nobody had ever seen her sneak long glances at Hiei, but Kurama had caught her a number of times looking at him, a vulnerability behind her eyes that he had never seen from her in any other instance. They simply fought to distance themselves from each other so as not to deal with their own emotions. _'Classic denial, really.'_  
  
Kitel looked at Kurama, and then to Midra and Hiei as Hiei disappeared from sight. She then looked at Kurama again, a perplexed look on her face. Kurama gave her a look that promised that he would explain later.  
  
Midra went to stand next to Kuwabara, still mad that Hiei insisted on picking on the poor guy. Kuwabara patted her shoulder in thanks for standing up for him.  
  
Yusuke sighed in exasperation. "How did I end up with such a team?"  
  
Midra looked at him and smirked. "You know you love us." Kitel made a gagging motion. Midra rolled her eyes at Kitel. "Well, some of us, anyways." Yusuke grinned at her.  
  
Midra couldn't help but smile back. Besides Genkai, Yusuke was the only one who knew about the nature of the death of her parents. The fact that she had told them showed that she cared about him a great deal. She truly saw Yusuke as her best friend, and even though she was a whole six years older than he was, she found that sometimes, she was able to look up to him. Midra's biggest fear was always to be seen as weak for her emotions, and when Yusuke had caught her crying over her parents one day, he had comforted her instead of viewing her as weak. Midra knew now that she could always trust Yusuke with her emotions. Though even after that, there was one set of emotions she found she could not share with anyone.  
  
_'Hiei.'_ The name came to her mind immediately, and along with it came the emotions she always felt when she was around him. The increase of her pulse, the jolt of adrenaline and awareness, the inability to take her attention away from him, it all came back to her in a rush. Midra, under normal circumstances, would label it all as an attraction to him, but this was Hiei she was talking about here, and she refused to admit that she could be attracted to someone like him.  
  
_'Then why do I keep on feeling this way?'_ she asked herself. She frowned and attempted to take her mind off of the fire demon.  
  
  
  
Hiei grumbled as he sat on the railing on the other side of the boat. _'Infernal woman, always getting on my nerves! How in the world does she do that?'_  
  
Now that he thought about it, Midra had always been able to get under his skin for some reason. The first day he had met her, he had drawn his sword upon her, and she had used her spirit energy to create a pair of sais and blocked his attack. She hadn't flinched. His mere name could strike fear into plenty of low-class demons, but this simple human girl wasn't afraid of him. It boggled his mind. He, in a way, admired that bravery, albeit a foolish bravery.  
  
Hiei knew within himself that it was much more than that. Perhaps, a human would label it 'love', but he simply labeled it as foolish, wasted emotion. He had no need for such emotions, no need for such a distraction. He knew that all he could do was continue to fight these emotions off.   
  
He would continue to fight her off.  
  
  
  
The pirate who commanded the ship stepped forward, a grin on his face. "All right, everyone, listen up! We have some rules on this ship. Namely, to get to the point, only one team here is reachin' that island alive, mates."  
  
"That'll be us," whispered Kitel. Midra smirked at her. "For once, we agree on something."  
  
"I wasn't including you," the female fox said.  
  
Midra rolled her eyes. "Didn't Kurama tell you not to underestimate me?" Kitel simply shook her head and looked at the captain.  
  
The captain grinned again. "And so, now ye all shall begin…A FIGHT TO THE DEATH!" Almost immediately, screams of 'Get the human team!' erupted from the demons.  
  
"Great!" exclaimed Yusuke, getting into an offensive position.  
  
"Awesome!" said Kuwabara as he pulled out his spirit sword. "A warm-up!"  
  
Kitel immediately took out the first demon that charged at her. She rolled her eyes. "Pathetic."  
  
Midra created a pair of spirit sais as a demon launched itself at her. She simply rammed him through with her sais, killing it instantly.  
  
A group of five demons all jumped Kurama at once. With a snap of his whip, all five were instantly cut down. Kurama simply smirked as their dead bodies fell to the ground.  
  
Yusuke simply rummaged through a large group of demons with a flurry of kicks and punches. The Masked Fighter easily took out a group of demons that had decided to jump her due to the fact that she was the smallest. Hiei was simply a blur, making rounds around the ship and cutting down demons along his way furiously.  
  
Kitel began to kick and punch a rather large demon viciously. Midra, even with her small height, was able to jump up and dropkick another large demon in the face. She stabbed it in the head with a sai while in mid-air, and then in the stomach when she landed. With another crack of his whip, Kurama took down another group of demons.  
  
Some group work came in handy. Kitel glared at a rather intimidating demon, her eyes turning white. Suddenly, the demon found itself paralyzed, thanks to Kitel's power. She kicked it into Kuwabara's waiting sword. He flung the demon off his sword and into the water. He stabbed another that came at him and flung it overboard as well.  
  
"Damn it!" screamed Yusuke as he was barraged by a group of demons. He angrily flung them all off, opting to take them on one at a time. Midra was taken by surprise by a demon that jumped in front of her and slugged her in the face rather hard. She retaliated by lopping its head off with her sais. "Asshole," she muttered.  
  
_'Where did my granddaughter learn such language?'_ Genkai asked herself as she glared at the demon in front of her through her mask. Coming to the conclusion that it was probably Yusuke and Kuwabara's doing, she quickly took care of the demon with a few well-placed kicks and punches.  
  
Kitel suddenly found herself surrounded by five demons. Kurama noticed her situation and flung his whip at them, taking down three of them. Kitel blew Kurama a kiss and winked at him before taking out the other two. He winked back at her before going on to kill the next bunch of demons.  
  
While Midra was taking care of the next group of demons that tried to jump her, Hiei caught sight of one that was rushing up behind her. _'Stupid girl!'_ he thought to himself before flying towards it and cutting the demon in half. _'She's going to get herself killed if she doesn't stay aware of her surroundings.'_  
  
Midra turned around, confused at his action. All she knew was that he had saved her. She nodded to him in thanks before another demon attempted to jump her. She traded punches with it until she got an opportunity to really strike and she kicked it in the face, breaking its jaw. She found herself surprised at her own strength.  
  
"Don't they ever get the point and just quit?" asked Yusuke as he took out yet another demon. "I know, seriously!" Midra agreed.  
  
Kuwabara threw a few demons over the boat again. "I know, this is pathetic! GAH!" he gasped as a demon tackled him from behind. He began to struggle with it until he got the upper hand and killed it with his sword.  
  
"I'm getting bored," Kitel commented. Genkai sent another two demons to the floor. "This truly is a joke," she agreed.  
  
They all stopped to realize only one demon was left. He stared at their group, confused. Midra spun a sai in her hand and tapped her foot, waiting for the demon to make a move.  
  
Yusuke glared at the demon. "Just jump overboard, its easier," he said simply. The demon looked at each member of Team Urameshi before taking Yusuke's advice and jumping off the ship to escape his death.  
  
"Well, that was mildly amusing," said Kurama, retracting his rose whip. "Mildly being the key word. I didn't even break a sweat," said Midra.  
  
"If this is any hint to the tournament, we won't even break a sweat," Hiei said.  
  
Both Hiei and Midra said the words 'break a sweat' at the same exact time. The both looked at each other, glaring with annoyance. Midra was the first one to break the glaring contest when Kuwabara grunted.  
  
"Damn demons and their claws," he commented, looking at his bleeding hand. Kitel muttered something about the fragility of humans before walking over to Kurama.  
  
Midra gave Hiei one last look before walking over to Kuwabara and taking his hand in hers. She put her free hand over his and it glowed with spirit energy. When she removed her hand, his wound was completely gone.  
  
Hiei lifted an eyebrow at Midra's handiwork. He was impressed, although he would never admit it. "You're lucky to have her around, Kuwabara. You may actually last throughout this tournament now."  
  
Kurama smirked at Hiei as Kuwabara practically blew up. "SHUT UP, SHORTY!" he yelled.  
  
"If you weren't so incompetent, then I wouldn't have to pass comments," he said. Kitel rubbed at some demon blood that had splattered on Kurama's shirt. Kurama put his hand over hers with a smile before speaking.  
  
"That's quite an interesting ability you have, Midra," he commented. Midra looked at him before realization dawned on her. "Oh, that's right, you haven't seen it in action. Self-taught. Took years," she explained. "You'd be surprised at how much concentration it takes."  
  
Kitel looked at her. "You may be of some help after all."  
  
"Thanks," Midra replied, smirking at her, knowing that was Kitel's attempt at a compliment of sorts. Kitel leaned into Kurama as he rubbed her hand gently.  
  
"Hey, there's the island, you guys!" said Kuwabara, pointing off into the distance where, indeed, the island was now visible.  
  
Yusuke sighed and sat down, leaning against the railing as he looked at the Masked Fighter. "I wonder if this team'll actually last…"  
  
"It will, as long as the word 'team' stays involved," she guaranteed, glaring at Kitel, Hiei, and Midra. Yusuke simply sighed and closed his eyes. Kitel leaned on the railing. "Well, here's where the fun begins," she said in all seriousness, her black hair blowing in the wind as her purple eyes grazed over the island's form.  
  
Midra brushed a piece of her own black hair behind her ear as her light brown eyes peered at the Masked Fighter, whom she knew was her grandmother. She had begged Midra to beg Yusuke to come along to this tournament as a healer. Genkai had, for a reason that she refused to tell, wanted her to be here, but wanted no correlation to be drawn between her and her granddaughter. Midra was more perplexed as to why she felt the need to keep her identity a secret. She sighed and bent down next to Yusuke. "I just hope it's more of a challenge at the actual tournament then it was here," she said.  
  
"I hope not," he replied. Midra put a hand on his shoulder, knowing he was worried about the outcome of the tournament. "You have no need to worry. Just wait until you really get to show your stuff." She smiled. "I bet you learned some amazing things from my grandmother." Yusuke simply smirked.  
  
"I think we will all surprise each other at some point during this venture," commented Kurama. Kitel hugged Kurama's arm and whispered into his ear in a suggestive manner, "Not all…" Kurama smirked at her suggestiveness.  
  
Midra found herself eyeing Hiei momentarily to check for injuries. He, of course, had none. She quickly turned her attention back to the island. Hiei took that moment to stare at Midra out of the corner of his eye. He knew he would have to make sure the fool didn't kill herself, for the good of the team, of course. He wasn't sure whether he was just thinking it or trying to convince himself of it.  
  
"I can't wait to get off of this boat," Kitel suddenly commented. Kuwabara nodded in agreement as the boat began to dock. "Solid ground will be great!"  
  
"I just want a nice, calm bed," said Yusuke. Midra chuckled at him. "Did my grandmother's training get to you?" she asked. "It's catching up to me," he admitted. Midra patted his back. "Well, the fights don't start until tomorrow, so you can get a nice, long sleep in." Yusuke nodded in agreement as Hiei glared at the demons that were already on the island, sizing them up. Team Urameshi picked up their bags and walked off the boat and onto the island, having no idea of the twists and turns that were about to befall each of them during this tournament. 


	2. Straw Picking, Card Games, and Stalkers

Here's the disclaimer again. Yu Yu Hakusho and all of its characters belong to their respective owners, except for Kitel who belongs to Mena and Midra who belongs to me.  
Please review!! kitty face  
  


Chapter 2 

  
After quite the walk, Team Urameshi finally reached their hotel room. After quickly putting their bags down, they discovered there were multiple bedrooms, each with two beds. This brought up the issue of who got stuck with whom, and the Masked Fighter took it upon herself to devise a system.  
  
She moved the straws around in her hand. "Everybody pick one, and if you get matching lengths of straw, you share a room. It's a clear, diplomatic way to do it."  
  
"Oh, please," commented Hiei, rolling his eyes. Kurama scowled. "Hiei, just do it."  
  
Midra picked a straw and held it in front of Hiei. "See? It's easy. You can do it, too," she said mockingly. Hiei grumbled under his breath and picked a straw himself. He held it out in front of her as if to mock her back, but the joke ended when they made a realization.  
  
Both of the straws were the same length.  
  
Kitel smirked. "Well, well, well," she said as Kurama smirked at the irony of the situation. Hiei growled as Midra rolled her eyes. "Oh, dear…"  
  
Yusuke attempted to hold in his laughter as he picked a straw. Kitel looked away to be fair and picked a straw, and then Kurama followed suit. She smirked when she put her straw up against Kurama's and found they were the same length. Kurama grinned.  
  
"Oh, wonderful, none of us are getting any sleep now," said Midra. Kitel glared at her. "Look who's talking!" Midra glared back. "I'm not going to be all over my roommate all night long," she retorted. Hiei looked at Midra quickly out of the corner of his eye before glaring at Kitel. Yusuke sighed. "Here we go again…"  
  
Kuwabara picked his straw out of the last two. He sighed in relief when he realized his and Yusuke's straws were the same length. "Great," said Yusuke, not looking forward to Kuwabara's notoriously terrible snoring. Kurama smirked. "_Now_ nobody's getting any sleep," he chuckled. Midra smirked as Yusuke rolled his eyes at the suggestion that he and Kuwabara would ever do things of that nature as he walked into the room and closed the door.  
  
Midra sighed mentally in relief, glad that her grandmother got the single room, so that her identity could continue to be a secret. Yusuke began to head towards his room. "Well, I'm going to get some sleep, so don't wake me up until the match begins tomorrow," he warned, glaring at Kuwabara. The accused put his hands up in innocence. "Fine with me. Mid owes me a game of cards anyways." Midra smirked at him. "That eager to be beaten?" she shook her finger at him. "Tsk tsk, Kuwabara."  
  
Kitel laughed. "Now this should be entertaining!" Hiei shrugged. "It shouldn't last too long, considering who's playing," he commented.  
  
Kuwabara growled. "All right then, you and me, Mid, right now! Come on!" he challenged.  
  
Kurama chuckled. "Well, I believe we have tonight's entertainment." Kitel grinned and looked at Hiei. "Five minutes," she challenged. Hiei looked back at her. "Not even," he countered. Midra eyed them both. "Get the deck, Kuwabara," she ordered as she sat down on the couch around the coffee table; ready to take on the challenge set on by Kitel and Hiei.  
  
Kuwabara sat down across from Midra as he shuffled. Kitel smiled at Kurama. "She'll wipe the floor with him. What do you think?" Kurama smirked. "Kuwabara is smarter than he looks. How much smarter, though, may be debatable."  
  
"I'll show you how to play a real game of cards!" said Kuwabara as he continued to shuffle. "Poker is the game, Mid. Aces wild." "Fine with me," she said. Kitel simply leaned against Kurama as he draped an arm around her shoulders, eager to watch the outcome of the game. Hiei rolled his eyes and sat at the windowsill, looking out of it. Truthfully, he was watching Midra through the reflection.  
  
Kuwabara dealt five cards to both him and Midra. She looked at her cards thoughtfully for a minute. "Give me two," she said, throwing two cards on the table. Kitel suddenly lost interest in the length of the game and went to put her bag in her room.  
  
Kuwabara gave her two new cards and after a minute of his own contemplation put down three of his and took three new ones. He grinned. "Ha, ha, ha, Midra!" he said victoriously. He threw his cards down face-up. "Full house!"  
  
Midra blinked. "Wow, Kuwabara, that's a very good hand," she said. "Very few things can beat a full house…" she turned her cards around to show him, "…but I believe a royal flush is one of them."  
  
Kuwabara's jaw practically hit the floor. "Wha…bu…HOW?"  
  
Hiei smirked and shook his head; unable to see the cards but figuring Midra had won. Kitel came back out of her room in leggings and a very big, loose sweater. "How long?" she asked Hiei. He closed his eyes briefly and then looked back out the window. "Four and a half," he answered simply. Kitel grumbled. "Damn," she replied in defeat, walking over to Kurama, who greeted her with a smile. She hugged his arm and let her hand graze his chest. He kissed her cheek gently.  
  
"Nice job, Hiei," said Midra reflexively, complimenting him on his win on his bet with Kitel. She mentally kicked herself as she realized she had just spoken his name, something she tried to avoid to keep his attention off of her. Hiei couldn't help but feel himself perk up at the sound of his name coming from her, but he said nothing.  
  
"Come on, Mid, one more game!" Kuwabara pleaded. Hiei scoffed. "I bet you can't beat her at all." Kuwabara's anger flared. "OH YEAH? Come on, Mid, I'll prove shorty over there wrong!" Midra grinned. "And I'll prove him right. Deal." Kuwabara began to shuffle furiously.  
  
Kitel got Kurama's attention and motioned to their room as she walked over and went in. He took one last look at the card game before turning and following her into the bedroom.  
  
"That entire scenario was just hilarious," said Kurama. Kitel wrapped her arms around his neck. "Isn't it?"  
  
"I don't think you know what I mean," he said. "I suppose I can trust you with this piece of information…" he moved closed to Kitel, afraid someone would overhear them. "Midra has caught Hiei's eye."  
  
Kitel lifted an eyebrow. "No way…" Kurama nodded. "Oh, yes, and what's better, she likes him right back." Kitel giggled. "This is too much!" she said. She kissed him on the lips quickly. "This tournament is going to be interesting."  
  
Kurama nodded. "Very," he replied before returning her kiss passionately. She smiled against his lips as he pulled her against him, knowing that he was going to keep her quite busy for the rest of the night.  
  
"WHAT?!"  
  
"That's my fifth win in a row," Midra smirked. Hiei smirked as well and shook his head. "You might as well quit, you'll just keep losing." Kuwabara growled. "You can't win six in a row! Come on, one last game!" Midra laughed. "You asked for it, buddy!"  
  
"Idiot," muttered Hiei as Midra laughed at his comment. Hiei closed his eyes, trying to concentrate on the fights ahead. He knew that Yusuke and Kurama would be valuable assets, but Kuwabara was simply a joke in his eyes, and although Kitel has her tactics, she had a very limited number of attacks. As for Midra, all he could say was that she should count herself lucky that the team had decided to make Kitel their back-up fighter instead of her. Her healing abilities were most definitely going to be an asset, but he had been training with her for months, and although she was a competent fighter with powerful skills, she wasn't ready for the type of brutal fighting that they would be facing. He opened his eyes when he heard Kuwabara speak.  
  
"Ha, ha, ha, a pair of kings!"  
  
"Ha, ha, ha, a pair of aces!"  
  
"WHAT? NO WAY!"  
  
Midra chuckled. "Just go to sleep Kuwabara. Maybe you'll have better luck tomorrow." She patted his cheek playfully and then picked up her bag and walked into the room that she would be sharing with Hiei, closing the door behind her. Hiei watched her walk into the room before noticing that Kitel and Kurama were gone. He rolled his eyes, knowing exactly where they were and what they were doing.  
  
"Fates help us all."  
  
Kitel and Midra ignored the stares from the male members of their team as they walked out of their rooms in their fighting outfits, Kitel's hair flowing free and Midra's pulled back and up as always.  
  
Kuwabara whistled. "Look at you guys! Are you planning to fight by distracting your opponents with your looks?" Midra promptly whacked Kuwabara upside the head for his comment.  
  
Kitel had her hands on her hips, glaring at him. "It'd be better than your tactic: making your opponent feel sorry for your stupidity."  
  
Kurama sighed. "You guys are starting _already_?" Kitel crossed her arms over her chest. "He started it!" _'Real mature,'_ thought Kurama. "Can't we at least try to act like a team today? We have our first fight against Team Rokuyuukai, and they are no laughing matter."  
  
Kitel walked over to Yusuke, who was sleeping on the couch, and whacked him upside the head. "Get up Urameshi, time to head out!"  
  
Kuwabara laughed, as Yusuke didn't move a muscle. "Have fun trying, he isn't budging!" He walked over and slung Yusuke over his shoulder. "What do you mean?" Kitel asked. "Genkai must have done a number on him," Kurama explained. "Well, she isn't a pushover, I can tell you that much…then again, either is Yusuke," mused Midra.  
  
"Where is our last fighter?" asked the Masked Fighter. Midra rolled her eyes at the mention of Hiei. "Maybe if we're lucky, he won't show up."  
  
At that moment, Hiei walked through the front door of the hotel room. "It's about time you all got up," he said.  
  
"It's about time you _got here_," Midra retorted. He looked at her. "_I've_ been waiting for all of _you_." She sighed. "Whatever. Let's just get going," she glared at Hiei as she walked towards the door.  
  
Hiei growled and glared at Midra. "This should be a short fight," he commented. He looked at Yusuke and raised an eyebrow. "What's with Yusuke?"  
  
"He won't wake up," said Kurama. "Hopefully, he'll decide to join us during the fight today." Hiei rolled his eyes. "What a leader." Midra turned and glared at him as she opened the door. "Oh, just shut up and move your ass!" she said as she walked out. The rest of the team followed suit.  
  
Team Urameshi did their best to stare forward and ignore the hateful glares from the demonic spectators as they made their way to the stadium. Kitel stuck close to Kurama and whispered to him, "Do you think we'll have any trouble before the actual fight begins?" "I hope not," he whispered back. Hiei looked at the both of them. "I hope so. Less demons to fight later," he said.  
  
Midra shook her head at Hiei's comment until a power group of spirit energies hit her senses. She stopped dead in her tracks. "Do you feel that?" she asked out loud. Kuwabara nodded. "Yeah, I feel it too."  
  
Midra turned slightly to her left as a group of five fighters, undoubtedly a team fighting in the tournament, were heading straight for Team Urameshi. They were all covered by large black sheets and had what looked like long, pointy-heads, although they were obviously part of the cloaks. Kitel growled low enough for only her team to hear her.  
  
The team stopped directly in front of them, standing perfectly still. One of the taller members stepped up. Hiei growled. "Can we help you?" he asked with agitation tingeing his voice. "What do you want?" asked Kitel, an eyebrow lifted in question. Kurama glared daggers at the figure that stepped up as it came closer to Kitel.  
  
The figure simply stared at her. Kurama, unable to hold himself back, wrapped his arm around Kitel's waist as if to let the cloaked person know that she belonged to him. Kitel gave the figure a 'touch me and die' look.  
  
The figured seem to disappointedly lose interest in Kitel. The figure simply stepped back and turned towards Midra, making his way over to her.  
  
Midra put her hands on her hips as the figure neared her. "Do you even know _how_ to speak?" she asked the person.  
  
"Speak or leave," said Hiei harshly. "Better yet, just leave."  
  
The figure, completely ignoring the fire demon, took a step closer to Midra. It looked down at her as if studying her. Midra took an instinctive step back, now a bit freaked out at the actions of the stranger.  
  
Hiei stepped forward, his hand on his sword, ready to strike at any time. To everyone else, it looked as if he were ready to defend himself, but he was really readying himself to protect the human girl next to him in the event that she was attacked.  
  
The figure spent a few more moments studying Midra before turning around and walking back over to it team. They all walked off as a perfectly synchronized pack.  
  
"What was _that_ all about?" asked Kitel. "I have no idea, but I didn't like it," Midra replied. If looks could kill, Hiei would have probably decimated every member of the mystery team by that point.  
  
"Freaky," was all Kuwabara could say. "Extremely," Kurama agreed. "They obviously are a team in this tournament. The real question is, can they survive long enough to fight us?" he sighed. "Either way, we need to get going." He pulled Kitel closer to him in a protective manner.  
  
Midra still felt a bit off. She couldn't help but feel very threatened by the silent figure that had almost bore holes into her without his eyes even being visible. Hiei looked at her oddly. "What's with you?" Midra glared at him. "Why don't you mind your business?" she said, huffing. "I have no idea, okay?"  
  
Kitel noticed Hiei's question and lifted an eyebrow at Kurama. He simply smirked, as if to say 'see, I told you'.  
  
The members of Team Urameshi cringed at the voice of the fox girl announcer as they entered the arena. "And now, here comes the ever-controversial Team Urameshi!!" The crowd began a chorus of boo's and curses. Kitel rolled her eyes. "Controversial? Please."  
  
The rest of the fight was full of twists and turns. Rinku beat Kuwabara, and Midra had to scream at Hiei to let up on the poor guy for losing. Kitel has panicked when Roto had threatened the life of Kurama's human mother, but was relieved when Kurama was able to outsmart him by planting a death seed in him while he wasn't paying attention, thanks to a tactfully flicked pebble. Hiei had then quickly taken care of Zeru. The biggest shock, though, had been when Chuu came out and destroyed his own two teammates. He was now laughing in the ring.  
  
Kurama smirked as he realized Yusuke had jumped into the ring. "Finally, he's awake."  
  
"About damn time!" growled Kitel. Midra smirked. She had known in her heart that Yusuke would come through. She caught a glimpse of Hiei out of the corner of her eye and did a double take. He has his right hand in his pocket, but she could tell it was trashed, practically burnt to a crisp. She turned to him.  
  
"You damned moron!" she said as he grabbed the upper portion of his arm, which was in fine condition. "You're just going to stand there with your arm like that? Some fighter you are!"  
  
Hiei growled at her. "Let. Go." Midra growled right back. "Stop being stubborn and let me heal your arm, you idiot." Kurama held in a chuckle as Kitel put a hand over her mouth to hide her smile.  
  
Hiei glared at her. "NO." he said, loudly and firmly. "FINE!" Midra said, her voice now raised as well. "Stay that way and have your arm injured for the entire tournament! I'm only trying to help the team!" Hiei and Midra entered in a fierce glaring contest. Finally, Midra pulled his hand out of his pocket. "You're such a dumbass, you know that?" she asked as she began to heal his arm. Hiei simply growled, but let her work on his arm, realizing she had a point about it being injured for the rest of the tournament.  
  
Midra had touched his hand gently to begin healing there, but felt a blush quickly creep up upon her and moved to the top of his elbow, deciding to start from there. She couldn't stop her heartbeat from quickening. She mentally cursed at Hiei as she continued to heal him. "I don't even know why I try," she said to herself.  
  
About ten minutes past. Kurama was busy finding amusement in the looks Kitel was giving Kuwabara as he cheered Yusuke on in his fight against Chuu. Midra was almost done healing Hiei, but a question had been burning at her for the past five minutes.  
  
"You really did yourself in," she commented. "What the hell were you thinking, using that technique?"  
  
Hiei fought the urge to rip her throat out. "I won the match, bitch! Why are you complaining?" Midra fought off the stabbing feeling in her heart that the harsh name he called her had caused. "Because having someone as stupid as you on my team unsettles me, that's why!" Midra cleared up a few last small cuts before finally letting go of his arm, finished with her job. "Move it and tell me how it feels," she said, trying her best to sound emotionless.  
  
Hiei moved his arm a bit. "It's fine," was all he said. Midra gritted her teeth. "Lovely, no need to thank me. Your wonderfully grateful smile is thanks enough," she said sarcastically. She turned to go walk over to Kuwabara. On her way over to him, she felt herself waver just a little bit. 10 minutes straight of channeling spirit energy was apparently beginning to take its toll on her. Hiei's keen senses picked up on her lack of coordination and instantly knew what it was from. _'Stupid girl.'_ Midra finally reached Kuwabara and simply crossed her arms over her chest and watched the rest of the fight. Chuu took out two knifes from behind his back and began saying something to Yusuke, which none of his team members could hear over the roaring crowd.  
  
"I hope this ends soon," said Kitel. Kurama wrapped an arm around her as she leaned against him. "As do I," he replied. He looked down at the female fox demon and smiled slightly. He had to admit, after being away from her so long being able to even feel her against him was heaven. The last time they had really seen each other was when he had still been Yoko Kurama, the most feared thief that had ever been heard of. "What in the…" Kurama watched in shock as Chuu threw the two knifes into the ground and he and Yusuke positioned themselves between the blades.  
  
Koto smiled. "It looks like Yusuke and Chuu have decided to finish this with a Knife Edge Death Match!"  
  
"WHAT? Is Urameshi crazy?" asked Kuwabara. "We just have to have faith that he knows what he's doing," said Midra.  
  
"He's nuts!" commented Kitel. "Fool," Hiei agreed.  
  
"Think about it," Midra said, speaking to her entire team now. "They're both completely spent. This is the quickest way to end this," At that moment, Yusuke and Chuu began to trade blows to the face. She got the impression that Yusuke was _enjoying_ himself.  
  
"That is true enough, but the real question is, can Yusuke avoid death when it is literally right behind him?" the Masked Fighter mused. "Great," Hiei muttered.  
  
"The winner is Yusuke!" cheered Koto. Kitel let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding. "He could drive a girl to drinking!" she said. "At least he's okay," Kurama commented.  
  
"It's about time," said Hiei, annoyed. Midra smirked. "Tell me about it. The kid sure takes his sweet time." Hiei crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Midra before looking away.  
  
Yusuke jumped out of the ring to be met with a very worried team. "You are such a…" Kitel couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence. Yusuke smirked at her as Midra walked over.  
  
She growled at her best friend. "You son of a…you jackass!" she smacked him in the arm before hugging him tightly. "Scare the shit out of me like that again and I'll kick your sorry ass!" Yusuke laughed. "I swear to you, Yusuke, you're lucky my grandmother isn't here, you would have given her a coronary!"  
  
"She would have killed him herself," said Hiei. Midra glared at him. "How about you take my word for it since I've known her all my life, hmm?"  
  
"I've got a better idea," said Genkai, glaring through her mask. "How about you both stop bickering so we can get back to the hotel? Yusuke needs rest."  
  
"Yeah right!" said Kuwabara, "He's been sleeping all day!"  
  
"For once, he's right," said Kitel, letting out a giggle. Kurama chuckled at how cute her giggle was.  
  
"Well…" Midra broke down into chuckles. "Maybe he'll have _earned_ it this time." She grabbed Yusuke by the ear and began pulling him out of the stadium, a move that Genkai had taught her. "Come on!"  
  
"AHH! Hey, that hurts!" Yusuke protested as the human girl dragged him away. "Good, you lazy bum!" she replied.  
  
Genkai smirked at her granddaughter's actions. Kuwabara laughed. "Nice goin', Mid!"  
  
Kurama chuckled as he took Kitel's hand. "Well, those three are quite the team. The Three Musketeers, really." Kitel rolled her eyes. "Oh, please." The Masked Fighter simply walked off towards the hotel without a word.  
  
"Damnit," Midra muttered to herself as she tried her best to steady her walking. Despite her best efforts, she was stumbling every few steps.  
  
"What's wrong, Mid?" asked Kuwabara, worried for his friend. "Nothing," she replied. "Just a little fatigued, I guess…" She attempted to cover up how tired she was by tugging on Yusuke's ear. "This one over here is enough to wear you out by just watching him!"  
  
"Don't blame Yusuke," Hiei ordered. "It's because you healed my arm, isn't it?" Midra looked at him. "I would never waste _that_ much energy on _you_." That was something she knew within herself was a huge lie. "Besides, even if I _did_ use that much energy, its not like you would ever be grateful or appreciative of it."  
  
"Don't lie," said Kitel, "He is part of the team and you'd help him as much as you would help any one of us." Midra glared at her. "Nobody invited you into this conversation." "Midra, be nice!" ordered Yusuke. Just at that moment, Midra's legs gave way momentarily. Kuwabara caught her by her waist before she was able to fall. Hiei found himself watching Kuwabara intently all of a sudden.  
  
Kuwabara examined Midra visually. "…You really _did_ use that much energy, didn't you?"  
  
Midra growled. "Fine, so maybe I did, okay? At lest the extra energy will spare us anymore brooding from him, okay?" She sighed and held on to Kuwabara's shoulder to steady herself. "There's no need to worry about me, I'm fine."  
  
Hiei growled menacingly at the girl. "Well, for your information, it is appreciated. In my next match, I'll be in better shape and be able to kill my opponent faster. I won't have to take so long to rest and heal now." That was, of course, his thanks to her.  
  
"That's what I was trying to tell you, but you're too much of a stubborn ass to realize it!" And that, of course, was her saying 'you're welcome'. 


End file.
